late farrowing

[wendy scu]

just keep topping up the straw.
how are the piglets doing?

[pedro1]

Ok i will just keep topping up the straw and the piglets are good they are noisy and active which I am presuming is a good sign but they have not been let out yet as there is still snow on the ground and we got a fresh batch tonight and I am getting them some soil on Saturday but I don't know whether I should give them names yet and they are being sold on so I don't know whether I should name them what do you think from pedro

[pedro1]

any suggestions for names as i think i am going to name them now that they have passed 1 week old so hopefully they will live a long and happy life

[pedro1]

At what age do the piglets need to be before I turn off the heat lamp or should I allways leave it on as it is winter and got down to - 14 celcis last night from pedro

[wendy scu]

they should be ok after a couple of weeks but if the weather is still below zero you can spoil them a bit

[pedro1]

Ok thank you I think I might keep it on a bit longer as it is still getting down to -14 most nights and it won't harm them to keep it on a bit longer from pedro

[pedro1]

Strawberry stood on the little girls trotter and she is now limping, she does put weight on it sometime but is there anything I can do for her from pedro

[Pandora]

I keep the heat lamp on for 3 weeks or so in cold weather, then turn it off for maybe 4 hours in the early afternoon, and bit longer every few days until left on a timer for coldest couple of hours during night. It keeps little ones well away from being layed on when not actively suckling, so long as you have good strong creep bars between it and mother.

I always named my litters alphabetically... so if this lot names all started with A, next litter B and so on, you can remember who is who easily. Google search baby names for the letter you are on.

You can only keep a close eye on the little one;s leg, and confinement and rest often rights it.

Good luck.

[pedro1]

ok thank you as this is my first litter i will be starting with A. also the piglets leg is much better today she is putting a lot more weight on it and it is not swollen and there is no open wounds so hopefully a few more days rest and she will be back to normal from pedro1

[pedro1]

Hi im just wondering the piglets are 2 weeks old tomorrow and last thursday i saw them eating food from the mothers trough and yesterday they were taking food from the trough and storing it under the farrowing rails and then eating it. they really like carrot peel and bread should they be eating food this early or is that normal from pedro

[Di]

Well there doesn't seem much wrong with them! Yes they usually start pinching Mum's food at about 2 weeks. Now you will see them grow.

Good luck

[pedro1]

Thats good i cant wait for them to grow a bit as they are still quite small and is it normal for the piglets to choose what food they like as they only eat bread and carrots even when there is pig nuts and other fruit and veg on offer to the sow that they could take from pedro